A huge congratulations to North Hertfordshire College’s Catering learners Felix, Ben, and Darius for their incredible work at the 2026 Zest Quest Asia competition.
Our talented chefs impressed the judges so much this year that they created a third-place overall prize just for the NHC team – something Zest Quest have never done before!
Founded by Cyrus Todiwala OBE, Zest Quest Asia is a competition for college teams to demonstrate students’ technical expertise, creativity, knowledge, understanding, and appreciation of Asian cuisine.
With the help of their Sri Lankan classmate, Ammar, the team planned, cooked, and served an authentic (and delicious!) Sri Lankan menu. The process started back in November, with our learners submitting a written entry along with photos of their concept-dishes, and a detailed explanation as to why they selected Sri Lankan cuisine.
Next came the semi-finals. Felix, Ben, and Darius worked with our Film Production learners to produce a professional video explaining the culture behind each dish, with demonstrations of the key techniques used in each of them.
The Zest Quest Asia team were impressed by the team’s cookery skills and particularly liked the way they worked with our Film Production students. As a result, the team made it to the National Finals in London.
With support from the whole Hospitality and Catering department, the team put in many hours of practice in the six-week lead up to the national finals. After their timetabled lessons, Felix, Ben, and Darius would often work on their dishes until 9pm and came into the College over half term to refine their techniques.
On the 9th of April, Catering tutor Rob and the Zest Quest Asia team headed into London for the national finals. To support them in the competition, Ammar kindly provided his grandparent’s traditional Sri Lankan cookware to ensure all cooking techniques were as authentic as possible.
The final presentation to the judges took place at the Hilton Hotel in Wembley. This was one of their final opportunities for the team to explain what they had learned and how they fulfilled the criteria.
One of the highest weighted criteria points for this year’s event was sustainability, something the team made a top priority. Felix, Ben and Darius considered eco-conscious alternatives to ingredients and resources throughout the whole process and even established improved standards in our college-kitchen. We have since cut our use of blue roll and replaced it with reusable squeegees, for example.
The next day, each team had a professional discussion with the judging panel to reflect on their teamwork, and development processes. The judges commented on the authenticity of our learners’ dishes and offered Ammar a full day of work experience at Cyrus Todiwala’s Café Spice Namaste restaurant as a thank you for his continued support.
That evening, the glitzy gala dinner took place and the winners were announced. Zest Quest Asia typically presents a first and second place award, but they were so impressed with the standard of abilities on display at this year’s competition, that they created a third-place prize just for the North Hertfordshire College team.
As well as third place overall, the team also won the ‘Best Menu Presentation Award’ for their use of authentic cultural elements.
A huge congratulations to Felix, Ben, Darius, Ammar and the entire Hospitality and Catering department – what an achievement! The prize packages include a full meal for learners and their families at Cyrus Todiwala’s restaurant, and a full day of work experience at Gordon Ramsay’s three-Michelin star restaurant.
Rob, one of North Hertfordshire College’s Catering tutors, commented: “I am incredibly proud of Felix, Ben, and Darius for their incredible commitment to this year’s Zest Quest Asia competition. The hours of work they put into their dishes really paid off and the whole NHC team are so proud.
“It was fantastic to see their hard work be recognised with a special third-place prize, something Zest Quest have never awarded before, I couldn’t believe it!
“Special shout out to each of the learners’ parents and guardians for their continued support throughout the course of the competition. Also, a huge thank you to Ammar and his family for helping us develop the most authentic dishes possible. Thanks to their ongoing support and guidance, we were able to ensure our dishes were authentically Sri Lankan.”
Congratulations again to the whole team for showcasing their incredible abilities on a national stage!
Our Hospitality and Catering learners take part in Zest Quest Asia every year; could you follow in the footsteps of Felix, Ben, Darius and Ammar? Be the best you. Ever. Explore Hospitality and Catering at North Hertfordshire College.